Post by Catherine Sun Chips on Feb 10, 2011 13:15:09 GMT -8

It seems like a shorter walk to the show & much longer when walking back to the campground..

That's because there are literally 15K+ walking back to camp if you stay until the end of the evening, most of them wasted. The pace is slow, and the thought process of 98% of them is slower.

On the way there, you can at least pass people, and depending on the time of the day, the crowd is little.

That's what I was thinking. There were times last year where I didn't even remember the walk because I was so drunk!

I'm told that there are other fests where the walk is much longer--and of course it all depends on where you're camping, but I don't ever remember being miserable walking back. It just depends on your sobriety, I suppose.

Post by wolfhat on Feb 10, 2011 15:45:13 GMT -8

As long as you aren't injured or deathly tired, the walk back is sooooo much fun. The whole "walking from a party to a party in a party" thing is absolutely true. The vibe is surreal. Someone, I think Pea, mentioned "floating" and (emotionally speaking) this isn't far from the truth either. It isn't that long of a walk, but one thing that can drastically increase your travel time is if you forget where you're camped. You leave your site during the day, and things look different at night. You may have new neighbors that weren't there before, too. Make sure you have some landmarks in mind before you leave for the festival. Flags (your neighbors' or your own) and Honeybucket corral numbers work really well. Also, if you don't steak down your tent you might have a whole new set of problems.

The worst music festival walking experience I've ever had was a few years ago at Reading. We were put in family camping, which was actually nice because we had a bit more space and things were quieter, but the problem was it was located across the Thames and only accessible by boat. It was a considerable walk to get to the dock (at least 30-40 minutes) and then we had to wait in line for an hour to catch a boat each night. They have since built bridges. Thank god!

Post by ithaca on Feb 17, 2011 22:44:40 GMT -8

walk isnt bad, the lines to get in suck though. it was like a 20 minute walk and a 45- hour wait in line each day for us last year. the lax searches getting into camp area are made up for by thorough daily searches at the gate to the stages. its not really a fest where you can walk back and forth to camp and stage often through the day. we were in the amphitheater for the whole day when we went.

Post by Abominable on Feb 17, 2011 23:20:18 GMT -8

walk isnt bad, the lines to get in suck though. it was like a 20 minute walk and a 45- hour wait in line each day for us last year. the lax searches getting into camp area are made up for by thorough daily searches at the gate to the stages. its definitely not really a fest where you can walk back and forth to camp and stage often through the day. we were in the amphitheater for the whole day when we went.

Post by zombiemaegan on Feb 17, 2011 23:50:53 GMT -8

walk isnt bad, the lines to get in suck though. it was like a 20 minute walk and a 45- hour wait in line each day for us last year.

For me the walk back is always way more enjoyable. It's not as hot and I've just had an awesome day of music... oh, and I'm generally too drunk/high to notice. The walk there is way worse, mostly just because I have to wait in that damn line to get in. I'm usually a little hungover/tired and grumpy because I haven't seen any music yet for the day.. I haven't had my first few beers/drinks/tokes yet. Last year, I had these stupid girls in front of me who, no matter how much room I gave them, kept backing up and stepping on my toes and pushing into me. NO ONE else was shoving in to me.. just these stupid girls.. I totally expect there to be pushing and shit in crowds, but these girls were awful and their attitudes were worse... so yah.. the walk there is way worse.

Post by DeadPunk on Mar 13, 2011 17:51:39 GMT -8

I remember walking towards the show last year, and I to chug a 4-loko because they wouldn't allow me to carry it past the "no more alcohol beyond this point" sign. I'm surprised I even remember miike snow.

The walk back later that night after deadmau5 was all time. Brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. I'm so pumped for sasquatch now!

Post by J. Walter Weatherman on Mar 13, 2011 21:41:34 GMT -8

Indeterminable until you actually have your campsite, but at least enough time to drink two to three beers, I would say. Not that I have a good handle on how long it takes to drink a beer. ::sigh:: I'm starting to think my title needs to go back to "Hates Beer"...

Post by wolfhat on Mar 13, 2011 22:20:01 GMT -8

The "no beer beyond this point" is located where you exit the campground on your walk to the festival grounds. Clearly, as J-Dubs implied, the further you are camped away from this point the longer you will have to drink your beverage(s) of choice. That being said, it's only a visual check and they don't actually check your bag here, so all you really have to do is be between beers (your extra(s) being concealed somehow) and you'll be just fine. I can say with certainty that there is plenty of time left in your walk beyond this point to polish off a beer or two. There are even (historically) some port-a-potties on the route so you can take a leak if necessary.

Hope this helps! Don't forget to drink water!

EDIT: Oh, and the place you exit the campground as you walk to the festival is right next to the place you drive in when you first arrive, so pay attention and you'll have a pretty good idea of how long your walk is going to be.